for all of us here, thank you for joining us. we will see you tonight, breaking news -- the new tornado threat as we come on the air. more than 50 million americans in the danger zone. violent lightning and large hail already hitting parts of tennessee. severe weather expected from texas to north carolina. several states bracing for what could be a dangerous night ahead. tornado watches now in effect as residents in georgia clean up from that devastating ef-4 twister. rob marciano standing by. cases on the rise. the warnings tonight of another possible surge. at least 22 states seeing an increase in infections, and hospitalizations up in more than a dozen states. those highly contagious variants spreading rapidly across the u.s. one health expert saying it's "an arms race between variants and vaccines," as the country hits a single day record for

number of doses administered. nearly 3.5 million reported shots in arms in 24 hours. border emergency. the new drone footage tonight showing migrants heading to the southern border. facilities overwhelmed. the number of unaccompanied children in u.s. custody jumping by nearly 1,000 in a single day. the biden administration feeling the pressure. nearly every member of the homeland security advisory council out of a job tonight. voting law backlash. swift outrage over georgia's new sweeping election law, with critics saying it unfairly targets voters of color. but despite the pushback, the state's governor moving forward, signing the bill behind closed doors. deadliest day. more than 100 killed in myanmar in just 24 hours, including several children. the most since that military coup began. the shocking images of violence tonight. the u.s. ambassador calling it horrifying. teacher's racist outburst.

the california teacher heard making offensive comments about a black student and his mother over zoom after she thought she ended the call. how the district is responding tonight. and "america strong." the couple married 72 years, separated by the pandemic, now hand-in-hand again. good evening. it's great to have you with us on this busy saturday. i'm whit johnson. breaking news as we come on the air. a new major tornado threat. more than 50 million people on alert for severe weather this weekend. the overnight hours expected to be the most dangerous time, while many are sleeping. a line of strong storms sweeping across the south with damaging winds. large hail already falling. you can see here in tennessee. and lightning striking this neighborhood. tornado watches now in effect following those already deadly storms. the danger zone extending all

the way from texas to north carolina. parts of the south bracing for their third major severe weather threat in the past ten days. this video from a neighborhood in georgia. scenes like these repeated across the region. officials confirming a powerful ef-4 tornado caused much of the damage. the first to hit the state in a decade. we're following all of it tonight. the latest on the track and the timing in a moment, but we start things off with abc's elwyn lopez in birmingham, alabama. >> repoter: tonight -- >> ooh! >> reporter: millions across the south bracing for severe weather. dangerous lightning and large hail already in tennessee. this as alabamians are cleaning up after thursday's deadly tornado outbreak. this is the ef-3 twister with 140 mile-per-hour winds that tore through the densely populated south side of birmingham, on the ground for more than 50 miles. volunteers wearing those red

shirts, now pouring through the hard-hit areas, helping their neighbors pick up what's left behind. how long will you be here working on these houses, helping the neighborhood? >> as long as it's needed. >> we have no windows. >> reporter: no roof. dave grubic grateful for the community's help. his home a total loss. the sounds of chainsaws a symbol, he says, of unity and compassion. >> you can hear it in the background. it's just amazing. >> reporter: strangers, neighbors, volunteers just coming together to help. >> everything. >> everybody. it is unbelievable. i've got goose bumps just talking to you. >> reporter: outside atlanta, georgia's governor touring the damage caused by an ef-4 tornado that hit the city of newnan around midnight friday morning. the state's first ef-4 twister in a decade, with winds of up to 170 miles per hour. in the last 10 days, more than 60 confirmed tornadoes touching down across nearly a dozen states. >> just incredible images that we're seeing.

elwyn lopez joins us from birmingham, alabama, inside one of those damaged homes. elwyn, the man who lives there tells you he's thankful he nearly missed the tornado. >> reporter: that's right, he says he left this bedroom two hours before a tornado sliced through it. the roof peeled off his home, open to the sky. the damage a sign of how important it is to move to a safe place when you get those weather warnings and that you have multiple ways of getting them. whit? >> those weather alerts so critical. elwyn lopez, thank you. let's get to senior meteorologist rob marciano. rob, walk us through it here. we know some of the biggest dangers will come overnight. >> reporter: yeah, we've already seen very active weather in the way of damaging storm reports in tennessee, virginia, and north carolina, where we have a severe weather watch up that includes raleigh and parts. coastal areas. flash flood watches up. flooding in tennessee and a huge area of tornado watches that stretch in some cases until 11:00 tonight. shreveport, greenville, little rock memphis, tupelo, nashville,

you're not hot zone where we think we'll see a tornado threat. does come mostly in the overnight areas. explosion of storms around midnight. the line pushes east into the mid atlanta for a severe weather threat tomorrow into charlotte, raleigh, norfolk, d.c. wind and rain event for the northeast through tomorrow evening as well before this whole system moves out. whit? >> rob, we know you'll stay on top of it for "gma" tomorrow. thank you. our other major story tonight -- covid cases on the rise and fears of another surge. dr. anthony fauci telling me earlier he's quite concerned about a possible resurgence. after months of decline, 22 states are now seeing an increase in cases even as vaccinations are picking up. the u.s. breaking another record for vaccinations reported in a single day. nearly 3.5 million shots into arms. more than 50 million people in the u.s. now fully vaccinated. but those spreading variants threatening progress. health officials describing this as a pivotal moment in the pandemic. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, new

warnings the nation could be on the brink of a fourth coronavirus surge. new cases now steadily rising in 22 states. the nation averaging nearly 59,000 new infections every day. >> i'm quite concerned about the rise, because we've seen this pattern before. >> reporter: hospitalizations also on the rise. in miami beach -- >> return to your hotel rooms or wherever you're staying. >> reporter: authorities enforcing curfews, desperately trying to quell the spring break crowds that dr. anthony fauci fears could add fuel to the fire. >> we don't mind if people come here and have a good time, but if they could just do it in a responsible way. >> reporter: vaccinations hitting a new 24-hour record. nearly 3.5 million doses already given, but the variants still a major concern tonight. the u.s. now reporting more than 8,000 cases of the uk variant now in all 50 states, and officials believe it could be more deadly. in the uk, officials are planning to start testing the

first booster shots on the elderly in september, and some health experts suggest the u.s. could follow suit. >> we have an arms race between variants and vaccines, and as soon as variants start to evade the vaccines that tells us that we're going to need to modify the vaccines in order to keep up. >> that's something to watch closely. stephanie ramos joining us from a mass vaccinate site in new york city. you're learning nearly every state in the country moving to expand vaccine eligibility now. >> reporter: exactly, whit. the white house says 46 states plus d.c. have pledged to open vaccine eligibility to those 16 and older by may 1st. that deadline set by president biden. whit. >> stephanie, thanks to you tonight. next to the situation at the border and the worsening humanitarian toll. abc news learned that over the last month, an average of 5,000 unauthorized immigrants have been stopped daily, and the number unaccompanied minors continues to grow.

reporters still not allowed in to the severely overcrowded facilities. these images released by a group of republican senators who visited. the political fallout only heating up. more now from abc's white house correspondent maryalice parks. >> reporter: tonight, thousands of migrants desperately making their way to the southern u.s. border, risking their lives. some seen walking with young children. other children seen traveling alone. u.s. border patrol agents say they found araceli franco cruz and her two children unconscious after they tried to cross the rio grande. her 3-year-old was revived, but cruz's 9-year-old daughter, magabi, apparently drowning. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: overwhelmed with grief, araceli telling telemundo, she tried a thousand ways to swim, but when she pulled her daughter out, she was already dead. the numbers staggering. a border patrol official saying in the last month they've stopped an average of 5,000 people a day. unaccompanied minors at the border still being taken in.

our rachel scott meeting 17-year-old melvin, who said he left guatemala alone over a month ago. >> none of you know each other beforehand? no. >> reporter: melvin telling rachel that after hurricanes, his family had nowhere to live, no money for school. more than 18,000 unaccompanied minors now in u.s. custody. that number increasing by nearly 1,000 in one day. republican senator ted cruz releasing this video after touring a border patrol facility in donna, texas. pods so crowded, there was little room for everyone to lie down. >> there wasn't a 3-inch space between the children lined up one after the other after the other. >> reporter: president biden calling the situation unacceptable and saying his team is working to open more permanent shelters like this one in san diego. >> the idea that i'm going to say, which i would never do, that if an unaccompanied child ends up at the border, we're just going to let him starve to

death and stay on the other side -- no previous administration did that either, except trump. i'm not going to do it. i'm not going to do it. >> maryalice parks is back with us at the white house. maryalice, president biden suggested that changes would likely be coming, and we're starting to see the fallout as we speak. >> reporter: yeah, a big shake-up at the department of homeland security this weekend. secretary alejandro mayorkas dismissing almost his entire advisory council, both democrats as well as republicans who worked closely with former president trump. a spokesperson at the department telling me the secretary wants his people in place, as well as a more diverse team as they work the make changes. whit? >> maryalice with the developments. thank you. georgia's new voting law coming under fire. critics calling it voter suppression, saying it unfairly targets voters of color. but supporters of the law, including the state's republican

governor who signed it this week, pushing back tonight. here's abc's elizabeth schulze. >> reporter: tonight protesters against that sweeping new election law taking to the streets in georgia. >> no justice! >> no peace! >> reporter: the law limits ballot drop boxes, tightens i.d. requirements for mail-in voting, and makes it a crime for anyone other than a poll worker to offer food and water to voters waiting in line. critics say the law unfairly targets voters of color. president biden calling it jim crow 2.0. >> it's an atrocity. this is nothing but punitive, designed to keep people from voting. >> reporter: but tonight, georgia's republican governor brian kemp pushing back. >> we're just going to make sure it's a secure process and that those drop boxes are monitored. >> reporter: kemp signing the bill behind closed doors, surrounded by white men. >> quit. i said quit. >> reporter: while democratic state representative park cannon, a black woman, was arrested trying to get in. her lawyer speaking out to abc news.

>> the rest of the country needs to take a very strong look at the tactics that are being used in georgia. >> reporter: dozens of other states with republican-led legislatures are considering new similar laws, putting new restrictions on voting. critics say it's a blatant attempt to suppress turnout in states that flipped for democrats in the last election. whit? >> elizabeth schulze, thank you. overseas now, myanmar seeing its deadliest day since the coup last month. reports of more than 100 people killed by security forces. a united nations envoy saying, quote, they are determined to kill as many people as possible. but demonstrators not backing down. here's abc's julia macfarlane. >> reporter: tonight, the resistance to myanmar's military coup hit a bloody milestone. sources tell abc news more than 100 dead in a single day, including children. in the capital, the military celebrated their armed forces day holiday. that military might simultaneously being used against young protesters calling for freedom. terrified people seen hurriedly

carrying injured protesters to safety. in this video, you see three men drive down a street on a motor bike. security forces opening fire. one man is struck, and as these two run away, the officers continue to shoot. reportedly they survived. in broad daylight, security forces savagely beating this man to the horror of onlookers. the u.s. embassy in myanmar today confirming shots were fired at the american cultural center in yangon. no injuries reported. the death toll since the start of the coup has now topped 400. but the citizens in myanmar have been defiant. objecting to the detention of their former leader, aung san suu kyi, and other elected leaders detained on february 1st on unverified charges of election fraud. but as violence and protests escalate, neither side is showing signs of giving up. whit, secretary of state blinken just putting out a statement saying he is horrified by the bloodshed in myanmar, saying the people there reject the military's reign of terror.

whit? >> julia macfarlane, our thanks to you tonight. efforts to move the massive ship stuck in the suez canal intensifying, but officials don't appear to be making significant progress. the ship the size of the empire state building lodged at an angle blocking the canal five days ago. dredgers trying to move sand to create an opening. hundreds of ships now stranded on both sides of the canal. high winds said to be a factor in the mishap. officials not ruling out human error, though. there's much more ahead on "world news tonight" this saturday. the teacher's racist outburst. the offensive comments made by a teacher about a student and his mother after she thought she ended a zoom call. and the urgent manhunt at this hour. a texas trooper ambushed. what we're just learning about the suspect. stay with us. when you have metastatic breast cancer, what does it mean to be a thriver? it means we grab a hold of what matters most. we sweat the details. ask for what we want. get what we need. and we need more time.

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but the call was recorded. here's abc's zohreen shah. >> reporter: tonight a southern california community outraged after a sixth grade teacher's racist outbursts. >> these parents, that's what kind of pieces of [ bleep ] they are. black. he's black. >> reporter: a palmdale teacher just finished a zoom call back in january when it appears the teacher did not properly end the call and proceeded to sound off to a colleague about the mom. >> your son learned to lie and make excuses because you taught him to make excuses that nothing is his fault. this is what black people do. this is what black people do. >> reporter: the mother recording the incident. the teacher later resigning. >> my client is a single mother who has two children, and like many people, struggled during the pandemic. >> reporter: the family's lawyer says the boy had been struggling getting a school-provided hot spot to work and fell behind with assignments. the family now filing a claim against the school district. the district says they do not

tolerate any kind of racial discrimination and the school says they reached out to the >> zohreen shah, thank you. when we come back, the manhunt under way for the suspect accused of ambushing a state trooper.

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and the hug more than a year in the making. >> oh, there you go. hey, roberta. hey, hi there. >> reporter: this is how francis doiron has greeted his wife, roberta, every morning for the past year. >> i see you got your angel hat on. that's beautiful. i like that one. >> reporter: only able to connect through daily facetime calls. francis at home, roberta now living at this nursing home in chula vista, california. the pandemic has kept them apart. >> it's been a long time since we held hands. every day i saw her from 6:30 in the morning until 6:00 at night, seven days a week. >> reporter: now the separation increasingly hard. >> yeah, because she's losing her memory more often because i'm not there. >> remember i love you very much, okay? >> reporter: then a major development this past week. those virtual visits were about to get real. >> i can hold her hand, and i think they said i might be able to hug her a little bit. i'm hoping that once i get to see her more often we can bring her memory back. >> reporter: both fully vaccinated, leading to an

emotional reunion. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: roberta recognizing her husband. >> nice to see you. nice to see you, roberta. >> reporter: francis giving his wife of 72 years that long-awaited hug. >> shows how happy i am to see you again, to be able to come visit you at lease for a little while. >> reporter: hopeful about the future, hand in hand again. >> things aren't that bad. there is light at the end of the tunnel. >> together at last. thanks to our san diego affiliate kgtv for help with that story. i'll see you on "gma" in the morning. linsey davis will be back here tomorrow night. have a great night.

a new vaccination clinic is helping one of the most underserved communities. also at 6:00 railing against racism. all across the bay area add their voices to the cry for unity and an end to bigotry. a california city take center stage as our nation struggles with the rush of migrant children at the border. abc 7 news at 6:00 starts right now. you will feel a little poke. >> it's a shot that comes with a dose of promise and hope.

this is the moment people have been waiting for. a first round of shots given today in an area virtually ignored in the vaccination effort. your health is one area we focus on in our commitment to build a better bay area. that includes tracking the states vaccination program. today that effort focused on the san francisco neighborhood that has the lowest vaccination rate in the city. abc 7 news reporter cornell bernard checked out the new vaccination site on treasure island. >> reporter: you could be a role model. mike mead was one of the 1st to get his shot at this pop-up vaccine site at the shipshape community center on treasure island. >> i'm grateful that it's so easy to get instead of waiting for months and months. >> i'm so happy. >> reporter: this vaccine site a joint effort with the department of public health and the fire department. the first ever on ti. berkeley sanders says it's about time. >> most people in san francisco that i have dealt with or talked with like my friends